Maryland Question 3, Civil Jury Trials Amendment (2022)

Maryland Question 3
Election date November 8, 2022
Topic Civil and criminal trials
Status a Approved
Type Constitutional amendment	Origin State legislature

Maryland Question 3, the Civil Jury Trials Amendment, was on the ballot in Maryland as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on November 8, 2022. The ballot measure was approved.

A "yes" vote supported amending the state constitution to increase from $15,000 to $25,000 the minimum amount in controversy that guarantees a right to a jury trial in civil cases.

A "no" vote opposed amending the state constitution to increase from $15,000 to $25,000 the minimum amount in controversy that guarantees a right to a jury trial in civil cases.

Election results

Maryland Question 3
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		1,132,822	62.51%
No		679,451	37.49%

Results are officially certified.

Source

Overview

What did Amendment 3 change about civil proceedings?

See also: Text of measure

Question 3 amended the Maryland Declaration of Rights to increase from $15,000 to $25,000 the minimum amount in controversy that guarantees a right to a jury trial in civil cases. At the time of the election, the legislature could limit the right to trial by a jury when the amount in controversy was less than $15,000.

When was the minimum amount guarantee established?

See also: Background

In 1992, voters approved Question 3 and Question 4, which established a $5,000 minimum in controversies to guarantee a right to a jury trial for civil proceedings. This amount was increased to $10,000 in 2006 when voters approved Question 3. In 2010, voters approved Question 2, which increased the minimum amount from $10,000 to $15,000.

Text of measure

Ballot title

The ballot title was as follows:

“

Authorizing the General Assembly to enact legislation that limits the right to a jury trial in a civil proceeding to those proceedings in which the amount in controversy exceeds $25,000, excluding attorney's fees if attorney's fees are recoverable in the proceeding. Under current law, the amount in controversy must exceed $15,000 before a party to a proceeding may demand a jury trial. In cases where the amount in controversy does not exceed this threshold amount, a judge, rather than a jury, determines the verdict. (Amending Maryland Declaration of Rights - Articles 5(a) and 23) [ ] For the Constitutional Amendment [ ] Against the Constitutional Amendment

”

Constitutional changes

See also: Declaration of Rights

The measure amended Articles 5 and 23 of the Declaration of Rights of the Maryland Constitution. The following underlined text was added, and struck-through text was deleted: Note: Use your mouse to scroll over the text below to see the full text.

Text of Article 5: (a)

(1) That the Inhabitants of Maryland are entitled to the Common Law of England, and the trial by Jury, according to the course of that Law, and to the benefit of such of the English statutes as existed on the Fourth day of July, seventeen hundred and seventy-six; and which, by experience, have been found applicable to their local and other circumstances, and have been introduced, used and practiced by the Courts of Law or Equity; and also of all Acts of Assembly in force on the first day of June, eighteen hundred and sixty-seven; except such as may have since expired, or may be inconsistent with the provisions of this Constitution; subject, nevertheless, to the revision of, and amendment or repeal by, the Legislature of this State. And the Inhabitants of Maryland are also entitled to all property derived to them from, or under the Charter granted by His Majesty Charles the First to Caecilius Calvert, Baron of Baltimore.

(2) Legislation may be enacted that limits the right to trial by jury in civil proceedings to those proceedings in which the amount in controversy exceeds $15,000$25,000.

(b) The parties to any civil proceeding in which the right to a jury trial is preserved are entitled to a trial by jury of at least 6 jurors.

(c) That notwithstanding the Common Law of England, nothing in this Constitution prohibits trial by jury of less than 12 jurors in any civil proceeding in which the right to a jury trial is preserved.

Text of Article 23: In the trial of all criminal cases, the Jury shall be the Judges of Law, as well as of fact, except that the Court may pass upon the sufficiency of the evidence to sustain a conviction.

The right of trial by Jury of all issues of fact in civil proceedings in the several Courts of Law in this State, where the amount in controversy exceeds the sum of $15,000$25,000, shall be inviolably preserved.

Full text

The full text of the amendment can be found here.

Readability score

See also: Ballot measure readability scores, 2022

Using the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL) and Flesch Reading Ease (FRE) formulas, Ballotpedia scored the readability of the ballot title for this measure. Readability scores are designed to indicate the reading difficulty of text. The Flesch-Kincaid formulas account for the number of words, syllables, and sentences in a text; they do not account for the difficulty of the ideas in the text. The state legislature wrote the ballot language for this measure.

The FKGL for the ballot title is grade level 14, and the FRE is 32. The word count for the ballot title is 90.

Support

Supporters

Officials

• State Sen. Jeff Waldstreicher (D)

Organizations

• Maryland Association for Justice
• Maryland State Bar Association

Arguments

• Richard A. Montgomery III, director of Legislative & Governmental Relations for the Maryland State Bar Association: "The MSBA has found that civil claims with lower amounts in controversy cannot be litigated economically in the circuit courts. Generally, when those claims require testimony by medical experts, the high costs of those expert witnesses, as well as the expansive discovery in the circuit court combine make such cases unduly expensive to pursue. The result is that often plaintiffs with smaller claims face unfairly high barriers to justice. Given the ever increasing costs associated with asserting medical claims, we believe the time has come to adjust the amount in controversy thresholds."

Opposition

Opponents

Organizations

• American Property Casualty Insurance Association Political Action Committee (Insuring America PAC)
• Maryland Association of Mutual Insurance Companies
• Maryland Defense Counsel
• National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies PAC

Arguments

• Maryland Defense Counsel (MDC): "MDC opposes Senate Bill 669 and Senate Bill 670’s proposed curtailment of the right to trial by jury which has been a staple of the Constitutional rights of the citizens of Maryland since the adoption of the Maryland Constitution. At common law, there was no minimum amount for jury trials. ... The net effect of the doubling of the minimum amount of jury trials in Maryland would be discriminatory, not associated with justice for all, but justice for some."
• Robert F. Glass, president of Maryland Association of Mutual Insurance Companies: "The enactment of this legislation would deprive many defendants in civil actions of the ability to remove an action from the District Court to the Circuit Court, where appropriate rules of discovery would be available. ... We should also note that, in the majority of states, no threshold of any kind exists. Among those states that have thresholds, Maryland is an outlier, with one of the highest thresholds in the Nation. Increasing the threshold now –doubling it – would only upset this balance without a demonstrated need."
• Andrew Kirkner of National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies: "SB 669 and SB 670 would have a significant impact on all individual defendants, but the effects will be exacerbated in the insurance context. The increased jury threshold is likely to increase insurance costs for individual policyholders as insurer defendants will be unable to thoroughly investigate and defend questionable claims and have these claims adjudicated by a jury."

Campaign finance

See also: Campaign finance requirements for Maryland ballot measures

Ballotpedia has not identified any committees registered in support of or opposition to Question 3.

	Cash Contributions	In-Kind Contributions	Total Contributions	Cash Expenditures	Total Expenditures
Support	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
Oppose	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
Total	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00

Media editorials

See also: 2022 ballot measure media endorsements

Ballotpedia identified the following media editorial boards as taking positions on the measure.

Ballotpedia lists the positions of media editorial boards that support or oppose ballot measures. This does not include opinion pieces from individuals or groups that do not represent the official position of a newspaper or media outlet. Ballotpedia includes editorials from newspapers and outlets based on circulation and readership, political coverage within a state, and length of publication. You can share media editorial board endorsements with us at editor@ballotpedia.org.

Support

You can share campaign information or arguments, along with source links for this information, at editor@ballotpedia.org

Opposition

• Baltimore Sun Editorial Board: "Question 3. Against. ... The Maryland Defense Counsel is opposed to the amendment, pointing out that it curtails the right to a trial by jury at the circuit court level, where the rules allow parties to seek more information from one another than in district court, and that no strong case has been made for the change. We agree."

Background

Trial courts in Maryland

Circuit courts

See also: Maryland Circuit Courts

The Maryland Circuit Courts have jurisdiction over criminal and civil cases, including juvenile and other family law cases such as divorce, custody, and child support. Circuit courts also hear cases concerning domestic violence. The circuit courts are where jury trials are held, though cases may be decided by bench trial. At the time of the election, the amount in controversy of a civil case had to be greater than $15,000 to qualify for a jury trial. These courts hear appeals from the district courts, orphan's court, and some administrative agencies.

The circuit courts are divided into eight circuits with one court in each of Maryland's 23 counties, and one in Baltimore City.

The map below shows each of those circuits by county.

Maryland Circuit Court

District courts

See also: Maryland District Courts

Created in 1971, the Maryland District Court, a statewide court, has jurisdiction over all landlord-tenant cases, replevin actions (to seek the return of property), motor vehicle violations, misdemeanors, and certain felonies. In civil cases, the court has exclusive jurisdiction in claims of $5,000 or less, and concurrent jurisdiction with the circuit courts in claims for amounts totaling more than $5,000 but less than $30,000. In criminal cases, the court has concurrent jurisdiction with the circuit courts when the penalty may be confinement for 3 years or more, or a fine of $2,500 or more, and certain felony offenses. The district court does not conduct jury trials.

The District Court is headquartered in Annapolis. The court has 33 locations in 12 districts. Judges are selected by the Governor and confirmed by the State Senate.

Ballot measures that limited the right to a trial in civil proceedings in Maryland

In 1992, Maryland voters approved Question 3 and Question 4, which were the same question mistakenly referred to the ballot twice by the state legislature. The ballot measures provided that the right to a jury trial in civil proceedings is limited to proceedings where the amount in controversy exceeds $5,000. Both questions were approved with over 70% of the vote.

In 2006, Maryland voters decided on a similar amendment increasing the minimum amount in controversy from $5,000 to $10,000. It was approved by a margin of 66.9% to 33.1%. In 2010, voters approved Question 2 increasing the minimum amount in controversy for jury trials to the current amount of $15,000. Question 2 was approved by a margin of 65.6% to 34.4%.

Path to the ballot

See also: Amending the Maryland Constitution

To put a legislatively referred constitutional amendment before voters, a 60% vote is required in both the Maryland State Senate and the Maryland House of Representatives.

Question 3 was introduced as Senate Bill 669 (SB 669) on February 3, 2021, by Senator Jeff Waldstreicher (D). It was approved in the state Senate in a vote of 43-4 on March 16, 2021. On April 10, 2021, the state House passed an amended version of the bill in a vote of 100-35 with six not voting or absent. On April 12, the state Senate concurred with the amendments in a vote of 45-1 with one not voting.

Vote in the Maryland House of Representatives April 10, 2021
Requirement: Three-fifths (60 percent) vote of all members in each chamber
Number of yes votes required: 85  a
	Yes	No	Not voting
Total	100	35	6
Total percent	70.92%	24.82%	4.26%
Democrat	94	0	5
Republican	6	35	1

Vote in the Maryland State Senate April 12, 2021
Requirement: Three-fifths (60 percent) vote of all members in each chamber
Number of yes votes required: 29  a
	Yes	No	Not voting
Total	45	1	1
Total percent	95.74%	2.13%	2.13%
Democrat	32	0	0
Republican	13	1	1

How to cast a vote

See also: Voting in Maryland

See below to learn more about current voter registration rules, identification requirements, and poll times in Maryland.

How to vote in Maryland

Poll times

In Maryland, all polling places are open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time. An individual who is in line at the time polls close must be allowed to vote.

Registration

Check your voter registration status here.

According to the Maryland State Board of Elections, to register to vote in Maryland, one must be a United States citizen and Maryland resident who is at least 16 years old. Although a 16-year-old can register to vote, he or she cannot vote in an election unless he or she will be 18 at the time of the next general election (i.e., 17-year-olds are permitted to vote in primary elections, so long as they'll be 18 by the time of the corresponding general election).

Maryland allows same-day voter registration during the early voting period and on Election Day.

Voters may register online, by mail, or in person at one of the following locations:

• Local board of elections
• The State Board of Elections
• Local Department of Health office
• Maryland Department of Human Services local offices
• Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA) offices
• Local Area Agency on Aging offices
• MTA Paratransit Certification Office
• All public institutions of higher education
• Recruitment offices of the U.S. Armed Forces
• Marriage license offices
• Offices for students with disabilities at all Maryland colleges and universities

Automatic registration

Maryland automatically registers eligible individuals to vote through the Motor Vehicle Administration.

Online registration

See also: Online voter registration

Maryland has implemented an online voter registration system. Residents can register to vote by visiting this website.

Same-day registration

Maryland allows same-day voter registration.

Residency requirements

Maryland law requires 21 days of residency in the state before a person may vote.

Verification of citizenship

See also: Laws permitting noncitizens to vote in the United States

Mayland does not require proof of citizenship for voter registration. An individual applying to register to vote must attest that they are a U.S. citizen under penalty of perjury.

Several local jurisdictions in Maryland permit noncitizens to vote in at least some local elections. These jurisdictions maintain separate voter registration systems for noncitizen voters. See here for more information.

All 49 states with voter registration systems require applicants to declare that they are U.S. citizens in order to register to vote in state and federal elections, under penalty of perjury or other punishment. As of January 2025, six states — Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, and New Hampshire — had passed laws requiring verification of citizenship at the time of voter registration. However, only two of those states' laws were in effect, in Arizona and New Hampshire. In three states — California, Maryland, and Vermont — at least one local jurisdiction allowed noncitizens to vote in some local elections as of November 2024. Noncitizens registering to vote in those elections must complete a voter registration application provided by the local jurisdiction and are not eligible to register as state or federal voters.

Verifying your registration

The voter lookup page, run by the Maryland Board of Elections, allows residents to check their voter registration status online.

Voter ID requirements

Maryland does not require voters to present identification while voting, in most cases.

A voter will be asked to show ID in the following circumstances:

• The voter registered by mail and did not provide proper identification;
• The voter’s identity is challenged; or
• The voter registers to vote during early voting or changes his or her address during early voting.

The following list of accepted ID was current as of October 2024. Click here for the Maryland Attorney General's voting information page to ensure you have the most current information.

“

A Maryland Driver's License or other Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA) issued identification A student ID card that contains a photo An employee ID card that contains a photo A passport or other government issued ID, OR, if you do not have those forms of ID: a utility bill, bank statement, government check or paycheck that shows your name and address and is less than 3 months old. If you are showing ID because you are voting for the first time, your name and address on the document must match the information on the voter registration roll.

”

See also

2022 measures

• 2022 ballot measures
• Civil and criminal trials on the ballot

Maryland

• Maryland ballot measures
• Maryland ballot measure laws

News and analysis

• Ballot measure lawsuits
• Ballot measure readability
• Ballot measure polls

External links

• Full text of SB 669